October 9, 2010
I thought I may not be given a chance to do this climb, and I was wrong. I have already scaled the trails of MakTrav(Mt. Makiling Traverse). Some of my friends told me that MakTrav is a very tiring hike, and yes they were correct. Roughly 11 hours estimated hiking time, truly it was very tiring.
I thought I may not be given a chance to do this climb, and I was wrong. I have already scaled the trails of MakTrav(Mt. Makiling Traverse). Some of my friends told me that MakTrav is a very tiring hike, and yes they were correct. Roughly 11 hours estimated hiking time, truly it was very tiring.
This was organized by a friend (sir Luke), and this is their training climb for G2(Mt. Guiting-Guiting).
This was my first time to encounter a limatik (blood leeches). Having read some articles about limatiks before the climb prevent me from being scared of limatiks. Also, I'm too much enjoying the trail to be scared of limatiks.
This was my first time to encounter a limatik (blood leeches). Having read some articles about limatiks before the climb prevent me from being scared of limatiks. Also, I'm too much enjoying the trail to be scared of limatiks.
First destination is Haring Bato, picture taking time guys! I guess this part has the most shots(pictures) taken. Next stop is Melkas Ridge Campsite, here we took our lunch. We also first encountered the limatik here, courtesy of Shirley. We were talking about limatik during our lunch, suddenly Shirley was calmly asking "eto na ba yun?" ("is this it?"), she was referring to a limatik in her pants. Then we answered "oo, yan na yun!" ("yes, that's it!"), and then she began panicking while the others was laughing at her. That was a very funny incident.
Next destination, Peak 3. This is where we commence crossing the Melkas Ridge, which is very steep that you'll need the assist of ropes. This part is the most hazardous part of the trail.
After reaching Peak 3, you will now enter another challenging part of the trail, the wild boar trail, which will lead you to Peak 2 (the highest point of Mt. Makiling). This is where the UPLB trail starts, start descent and you'll end up at UPLB(University of the Philippines Los Baños) College of Forestry.
For me, the reward of the trip is the Sto. Tomas Trail itself. Since the trail from Peak 2 to UPLB College of Forestry offers few views especially when darkness approaches, like in our case, we arrived at the College of Forestry at around 8:30PM.
This is a very challenging climb, now I know why it is used as a training climb for a G2 climb. Ofcourse I'll be back and scale MakTrav again.
For me, the reward of the trip is the Sto. Tomas Trail itself. Since the trail from Peak 2 to UPLB College of Forestry offers few views especially when darkness approaches, like in our case, we arrived at the College of Forestry at around 8:30PM.
This is a very challenging climb, now I know why it is used as a training climb for a G2 climb. Ofcourse I'll be back and scale MakTrav again.
